Protecting the Shields -- The Nick Cafardo Thread
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25 IP into Kyle Lohse's three year contract proves that Doug Melvin made a brilliant move! Brilliant!
Nick opened up the mailbag again today.
Questions like the one below slay me. Why doesn't he just give Bud a call and answer his question personally? I'm sure Bud is the only RS fan in the world who is asking this question.
With Adrian Gonzalez hitting [.337], Carl Crawford hitting .307 (Punto at .400, as a part-timer), and Beckett being essentially a No. 3 or 4 starter, why is there no reflection on the wisdom of last year's trade from the Boston baseball writers? Although the team's hot start is encouraging, it seems to me the Sox would look like a real powerhouse if they still had those guys.
Bud, Atlanta
You can’t be serious, Bud. They unloaded these guys, in part, because they were a bad fit. Poor chemistry guys. They made a lot of money and were bad for team morale. Great trade. They unloaded $265 million and got two excellent pitching prospects in Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa.
Questions like the one below slay me. Why doesn't he just give Bud a call and answer his question personally? I'm sure Bud is the only RS fan in the world who is asking this question.
With Adrian Gonzalez hitting [.337], Carl Crawford hitting .307 (Punto at .400, as a part-timer), and Beckett being essentially a No. 3 or 4 starter, why is there no reflection on the wisdom of last year's trade from the Boston baseball writers? Although the team's hot start is encouraging, it seems to me the Sox would look like a real powerhouse if they still had those guys.
Bud, Atlanta
You can’t be serious, Bud. They unloaded these guys, in part, because they were a bad fit. Poor chemistry guys. They made a lot of money and were bad for team morale. Great trade. They unloaded $265 million and got two excellent pitching prospects in Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa.
Cafardo hasn't criticized the Red Sox for not giving a huge contract to Josh Hamilton for quite a while now. I wonder why not? He's also been pretty quiet on the topic of how good a manager Bobby Valentine is.
I guess it's just not like him to bring things up over and over again and to beat the same drum over and over. I'm sure he'll revisit those topics again soon though.
I guess it's just not like him to bring things up over and over again and to beat the same drum over and over. I'm sure he'll revisit those topics again soon though.
He’s a big guy, and catching is tough for a big guy, just as it is for big pitchers. The one thing I’d do that the team has never done is bring Carlton Fisk in to work with him. Fisk was a big catcher and he would love to work with Salty. And I think Gary Tuck was overrated.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2013/05/ask_nick_pitchi.html
This was Nick's answer to a mail bag question about why Salty looks like a bad defensive catcher. The reader then asks whether the absence of Gary Tuck might be part of Salty's problems.
Would it be too much to ask that Nick explain the last sentence? Outside of whatever was going on between Tuck and Bobby last year, I had the impression that Tuck was well respected both in and outside the Sox organization.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2013/05/ask_nick_pitchi.html
This was Nick's answer to a mail bag question about why Salty looks like a bad defensive catcher. The reader then asks whether the absence of Gary Tuck might be part of Salty's problems.
Would it be too much to ask that Nick explain the last sentence? Outside of whatever was going on between Tuck and Bobby last year, I had the impression that Tuck was well respected both in and outside the Sox organization.
Is there any chance that the actual explanation is anything more sophisticated than 'I like Fisk and he talks to me...unlike Tuck'? Any chance at all?
I understand that Nick has a little Drew voodoo doll in hopes that Iglesias comes back to Boston ASAP, but what's his probem with Webster? Webster had one damn good game and one damn shitty game and immediately after the latter, Nick declared him "not ready for the big leagues," as though his first start didn't happen. And the description of Webster gets worse with each subsequent reference.Gambler7 said:
I saw this and I'm glad someone else already posted it. Pretty much any other writer and I'd assume they were trolling, but I really think Cafardo is too stupid to troll.
Clearly, the point of writing the Boston Globe Sunday Notes column is to stick it to players you hate and defend people you like. By the third paragraph in Sunday's cloumn, Cafardo has called Josh Beckett a "declining sour puss," Carl Crawford an "injury-prone whiner" and Adrian Gonzalez a clubhouse lawyer. Calling a guy a clubhouse lawyer is pretty significant, it's a real shot at him in baseball terms. And why should anyone care if Beckett is a "sour puss" or Crawford is a whiner? Those labels have nothing to do with why they aren't here anymore.
But Don Mattingly has always been nice to Nick, so Cafardo needs to use his column to defend him. Speaking of managers with horrible records with gigantic payrolls, Nick manages two pointless Bobby Valentine references in the column, just because it's what he does. And then he creates an excuse for his favorite Jose Iglesias, noting "Scouts who have watched Iglesias wonder if the Red Sox have messed with his psyche."
Cafardo tops off all this with a great mixed metaphor: "backseat quarterbacking". And then he follows that up with a botched reference to a pop song from a million years ago: "Things that make you go huh".
His column is a parade of bad writing, laziness and clumsy, transparent attempts at dishing out revenge and rewards. It's like a textbook example of how not to write a useful or interesting column.
But Don Mattingly has always been nice to Nick, so Cafardo needs to use his column to defend him. Speaking of managers with horrible records with gigantic payrolls, Nick manages two pointless Bobby Valentine references in the column, just because it's what he does. And then he creates an excuse for his favorite Jose Iglesias, noting "Scouts who have watched Iglesias wonder if the Red Sox have messed with his psyche."
Cafardo tops off all this with a great mixed metaphor: "backseat quarterbacking". And then he follows that up with a botched reference to a pop song from a million years ago: "Things that make you go huh".
His column is a parade of bad writing, laziness and clumsy, transparent attempts at dishing out revenge and rewards. It's like a textbook example of how not to write a useful or interesting column.
WayBackVazquez said:
"....my sources say it was actually Bobby Valentine's idea initially, back before he was with the Mets. He never gets credit for many of his innovations"
Nicky C
This gaffe really made me laugh.
Almost as much as "When Don Mattingly gets fired teams are going to be lining up to give him a job." Of course, Cafardo never explains why that's true other than Mattingly saying that "you can't win with a team of all-stars." Sure, okay. Mattingly seems a bit over matched to me, but I haven't watched a ton of Dodger games.
Wasn't the knock on Mattingly that he had never managed at any level before getting the Dodgers job? Some guys with that background can make it work (Matheny.for example), but it can hardly be a shock that Mattingly seems to be over his head. Of course Nick goes ahead.and blames AGon for it.
I watch a decent amount of Dodgers games and I'd say that Mattingly is a mediocre manager turned horrible manager after he decided to start picking fights with Kemp and Ethier. The excuse that you can't just toss an All-Star team out there is especially weak considering that the Dodgers have so many sub par players getting regular playing time. Without Ramirez they're regularly running out an infield that includes Mark Ellis, Juan Uribe, Jerry Hairston, Luis Cruz, and Nick Fucking Punto. Even with Gonzalez's nice numbers that's one of the worst infields in the MLB.
Teams will give Mattingly another shot, but I doubt it will be another high profile club.
Teams will give Mattingly another shot, but I doubt it will be another high profile club.
Beginning next week, Apropos of Nothing will be renamed: "Things that Made Me Sweat" and his usual ball-licking pieces will be called, "People Who Are In My DAWG Pound (Woof, woof, woof)".
The week after, Nick Cafardo will be renamed Cafardioooooooooooo Hall or N+C Apropos Factory.
The week after, Nick Cafardo will be renamed Cafardioooooooooooo Hall or N+C Apropos Factory.
Today is a Month of Sundays worth of effluent. It's like Nick keeps getting hit in the head while he writes, and with each blow he veers off in a different direction.
Killer instinct? They could have had Dahmer at 1st, Gacy at SS and Bundy in RF and they wouldn't have beaten Cliff Lee.
He's talking about the Yankees, of course, who failed miserably to gain ground on the Sox. Not.
Whack!!!! Maybe things aren't so bad.
They lost exactly ONE game not pitched by Cliff Lee. And they won a game pitched by Ed Gein Aceves when their own Cy Young candidate, Buchholz, was scratched
Whack! On the other hand . . . .
Whack! Nick tries advanced stats: "You need to win just to show that you can win more games than the other teams."
"Separate themselves from the pack." Its so important he uses it twice.
TWO GAMES. One of which was pitched by perhaps the best pitcher in baseball.
I guess it hasn't occurred to him to write a "hey, these teams are all pretty talented and flawed. an even matc
Putting aside the grammatically shaky concept of "gaining" on those behind you. . . .
Killer instinct? They could have had Dahmer at 1st, Gacy at SS and Bundy in RF and they wouldn't have beaten Cliff Lee.
He's talking about the Yankees, of course, who failed miserably to gain ground on the Sox. Not.
Whack!!!! Maybe things aren't so bad.
Especially a team lacking a killer instinct.
They lost exactly ONE game not pitched by Cliff Lee. And they won a game pitched by
Whack! On the other hand . . . .
Whack! Nick tries advanced stats: "You need to win just to show that you can win more games than the other teams."
"Separate themselves from the pack." Its so important he uses it twice.
TWO GAMES. One of which was pitched by perhaps the best pitcher in baseball.
I guess it hasn't occurred to him to write a "hey, these teams are all pretty talented and flawed. an even matc
Yesterday's Notes column had this piece of insight:
And when you think about it, Papelbon makes $13 million a season, same as Victorino and Ryan Dempster combined.
And Nick, if you'd think about it some more, you'd realize that those guys make the same individually, not combined.
And when you think about it, Papelbon makes $13 million a season, same as Victorino and Ryan Dempster combined.
And Nick, if you'd think about it some more, you'd realize that those guys make the same individually, not combined.
This morning he claims that Iglesias should not be in a utility role because of the contract he signed 4 years ago. And that the only reason Drew is the starting shortstop is because Drew is a veteran.
This morning's column was so stupid.lexrageorge said:
1. "And a funny thing has happened - Iglesias is hitting. He's almost doubled Drew's batting average with a .431 mark in 51 at-bats entering Sunday night." Iglesias is batting .431 in 51 at-bats, thus, Iglesias is twice as good a hitter as Drew according to Nick.
2. Iglesias is 13 for 22 against the Yankees (.590) while Drew is .213. I guess that means Iglesias is the better hitter?
Per Items #1 and #2 above, Nick concludes that this is a tricky situation, because "the best shortstop (offensively and defensively) should play shortstop."
Another gem: "If the Sox keep Iglesias as a utility guy, that's not what you had in mind when you gave him an $8.1 million bonus out of Cuba." In Nick's world, if Iglesias stays in a utility role this year, then it means he is a career utility guy, and the $8.1 million was poorly spent. Of course, the alternative could be true, that the Red Sox have given him the minor league seasoning he needs, promoted him to the big club, had him fill a utility role this year in anticipation of him taking over as the full time SS next year when Drew's contract expires. Shit, maybe Iglesias, ultimately, does become a better hitter than Drew and takes the job from him for the foreseeable future, but Nick's poor writing and logic (combined with a lack of an editor apparently) are really embarrassing.
I hadn't realized how much of a dolt Cafardo was, because I rarely read him. After reading this thread, I started paying attention. You're all correct, he's a lazy simpleton who hasn't written an insightful thing in the last 4 weeks (and I'm assuming 4 years).
lexrageorge said:
So according to Nick the $2M per year player should play over the $10M per year player because there are higher expectations for the $2M per year player since he makes... less money? Awesome.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but last year and the year before, Nick Cafardo wasn't defending the so-called all-star that the Sox constructed, did he? Because this morning he defended the Angels, Blue Jays, Dodgers and Nats. Of course his defense was, you have to get as many all-stars as you can and if they suck, well there's nothing you can really do about it. That's baseball.
I am almost 100% positive he didn't have that attitude about the 2011-12 Sox.
Other than that, I pretty much skimmed the rest of the column. I don't remember much else.
I am almost 100% positive he didn't have that attitude about the 2011-12 Sox.
Other than that, I pretty much skimmed the rest of the column. I don't remember much else.
I didn't read Cafardo yesterday, but two weeks ago he was excusing the Dodgers failures because they didn't have the right mix of All-Stars and lunch pail guys.
Take that you haters!
First, and I hope not, but a year from now we could be clamoring for Xander's promotion as Jose is hitting .167. Let's not jump the gun here.
Second, I wonder what Nick thinks about his insistence that the Sox should have signed Josh Hamilton? Hrmmm Nick?
But really, this is just such a petty, weasel-y way to start an 'Ask Nick' article. I don't ever read an Ask Nick mailbag, and try to avoid clicking his links, but saw this while scanning the extra bases section (moreso to see what they said about Xander's promotion).
Red Sox fans deserve better than the CHB's and the Nick Cafardo's of the world. It's baffling. But, I'm preaching to the choir, while more of my baseball reading moves away from the Boston Globe to say, weei.com where I get Bradford and Speier.
First, and I hope not, but a year from now we could be clamoring for Xander's promotion as Jose is hitting .167. Let's not jump the gun here.
Second, I wonder what Nick thinks about his insistence that the Sox should have signed Josh Hamilton? Hrmmm Nick?
But really, this is just such a petty, weasel-y way to start an 'Ask Nick' article. I don't ever read an Ask Nick mailbag, and try to avoid clicking his links, but saw this while scanning the extra bases section (moreso to see what they said about Xander's promotion).
Red Sox fans deserve better than the CHB's and the Nick Cafardo's of the world. It's baffling. But, I'm preaching to the choir, while more of my baseball reading moves away from the Boston Globe to say, weei.com where I get Bradford and Speier.
Nick Cafardo is a fucking asshole. It would be one thing for him to be such a thoroughly stupid person in this position, but the "nyah nyah" shit with Iglesias is galling. This is someone who's sole rhetorical device is (half) opening his fat mouth and hoping for the best, and now suddenly he's crowing about 87 PAs from someone he probably decided he liked just cuz.
Man, those appearances in the NESN booth have given some extra clarity to my hatred for him. He 100% reminded me of that guy you overhear blabbing about the Sox to his buddy at the deli with no clue what he's talking about, but you roll your eyes and try not to hate, because he's shooting the shit with his friend and what, its this guy's job to be an authority on the Red Sox? That guy is one of the Globe's main Sox beat writers.
I like Iggy and wish him well, but something about all of this has me rooting extremely hard for Xander to make it a moot point ASAP. AAA, baby.
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Man, those appearances in the NESN booth have given some extra clarity to my hatred for him. He 100% reminded me of that guy you overhear blabbing about the Sox to his buddy at the deli with no clue what he's talking about, but you roll your eyes and try not to hate, because he's shooting the shit with his friend and what, its this guy's job to be an authority on the Red Sox? That guy is one of the Globe's main Sox beat writers.
I like Iggy and wish him well, but something about all of this has me rooting extremely hard for Xander to make it a moot point ASAP. AAA, baby.
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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
I'm betting Nick has no idea what BABIP means, let alone the application.
Holy shit. This is only Martin's eighth season in the big leagues, for chrissakes. Are there even editors over there? No one read that and said, "wait a minute, Russell Martin is one the greatest defensive catchers of all-time?"E5 Yaz said:
Orel Miraculous said:
I looked up baseball-reference.com and found that out too. He has a Rookie of the Year and one Gold Glove. So a RoY = 7 Gold Gloves.
I am always going to refer to Martin from now on as "8-time Gold Glove winner Russell Martin," just because the Boston Globe printed that. I just find that amusing, sorry.
I also wonder where in the hell that could possibly have come from. If he had said 2 or 3 time winner, that would be one thing. But 8??? A similar mistake would be to say something like "8-time batting champion Derrek Lee" or "8-time 20-game winner Jered Weaver." Just way off, comically so.
I also wonder where in the hell that could possibly have come from. If he had said 2 or 3 time winner, that would be one thing. But 8??? A similar mistake would be to say something like "8-time batting champion Derrek Lee" or "8-time 20-game winner Jered Weaver." Just way off, comically so.
The fact that I missed seeing this in print and didn't have the momentary "holy shit Russell Martin has 8 gold gloves" before I realized that of course he doesn't have 8 gold gloves almost makes me wish I didn't avoid Cafardo's articles at all costs.
Almost
Plus if I ever do bring up Russell Martin (no idea why I would) you are damned right it is going to be "8 time gold glove winner Russell Martin". I actually think one of those word replacement thingies should be set up to do just that.
Almost
Plus if I ever do bring up Russell Martin (no idea why I would) you are damned right it is going to be "8 time gold glove winner Russell Martin". I actually think one of those word replacement thingies should be set up to do just that.
Humphrey said:
Of course it would. He's Nick's binky, in his mind he's the best SS in baseball.
Nick takes it very, very personally that Stephen Drew is even on the team.
How could he not be baffled? The Tigers have 8 time Rolaids Relief Award winning closer Jose Valverde.CoffeeNerdness said:
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